Alex Anthopoulos

Checking in from Toronto, where the hot topic of the day is whether the Blue Jays are stealing signs from the center field seats during home games. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke at a news conference vehemently denying any of the allegations that came out of an ESPN The Magazine story on the subject. His opening statement: “This whole thing is stupid. It’s unbelievabvle that we’re sitting here to even talk about this. … All I’ll say is there’s zero truth to this.”

It was pretty entertaining to listen to him go on …

–As for A’s news, Coco Crisp (strained right calf) is out of the lineup again, with Ryan Sweeney playing center field and Cliff Pennington hitting second in the order. Manager Bob Melvin said Crisp was scheduled for baseball activity before the game to test his calf. He’s not sure about whether Crisp will be ready to play in Thursday’s road trip finale. “I’m always hopeful, but I’m not even gonna handicap it,” Melvin said. “If he does feel it some, I would be reluctant to play him.”